1. Keep a notebook “incubators” write in overheard conversation, expressive phrases, images, ideas, and interpretations on the world around you. Write on a regular, daily basis. every day — even if you don’t feel like it. Collect stories from everyone you meet. Read a LOT!!! Try different genres.

2. If you are having trouble getting started, look out the window. The whole world is a story, and every moment is a miracle. -Bruce Taylor, UWEC Professor of Creative Writing

3. The little girl looked so tired, she clearly needed a nap. The brown-eyed little girl wore a plastic Viking cap, and her mouth was sticky from candy. Standing there in her dress-up clothes, she looked more tired than I had ever seen a child look. But she was so very stubborn, I saw we were headed for a battle. Her sleepy brown eyes hardened into red-rimmed slits. She cocked her plastic Viking helmet aggressively, the horns sticking out only a little more than her curls. One fist clutched a decapitated lollipop, the other a cardboard sword. She levelled the point at my chest. “You mean dragon!” she growled. “You’ll never make me nap!” http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/sho wing/

5. Who is your protagonist, and what does he or she want? When the story begins, what morally significant actions has he or she already taken towards that goal? (“Morally significant” means a conscious choice, with repercussions that drive the rest of the story.) What unexpected consequences — directly related to the protagonist’s efforts to achieve the goal — ramp up the emotional energy of the story? Force your protagonist to make yet another choice, leading to still more consequences. What details from the setting, dialog, and tone help you tell the story? Avoid travel scenes, character A telling character B about something we just saw happening to character A, and phrases like “said happily” — use stronger verbs instead like “bubbled” or “chirped” What morally significant choice does your protagonist make at the climax of the story? Your reader should care about the protagonist’s decision and not see it coming. Using real-life experiences helps you understand what your character is feeling, but simply describing how you felt is not the same thing as generating emotional responses in the reader.

6. Wordiness is an enemy What is this story about? What's the main point? Stick to that point from start to finish. Anything that doesn’t add to your story detracts from it. Dialogue must advance the storyline, not just be idle chatter. The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do. Thomas Jefferson

7. 1)Check for and remove excess modifiers like very, really, quite, fairly, kind of, and truly. 2) Remove empty phrases like there seems to be, in order to, needless to say, on account of, and what I mean is. 3) Avoid tautologies. Trim redundant words in phrases like free gift, past history, honest truth, end result, Stand up,sit down, turned around, He thought to himself, She shrugged her shoulders, She whispered softly, He nodded his head 4) Limit adverbs. Use strong, descriptive verbs instead. 5) Limit use of that, just and really. Remove them wherever possible. 6) Remove distancing phrases such as tried to, began to and started to

8. Repetition = yawn! Avoid reusing the same word in a paragraph. Substitute another word with the same meaning. Don't overuse names. People rarely address each other by name. Making your characters do so sounds unnatural and draws the reader out of the story.

9. Avoid participle phrases - particularly at the beginning of sentences. Participle phrases end in the letters -ing. Replace was and were with stronger, more descriptive verbs. Usually, was and were precede an -ing word, and you can change the -ing word to make it stronger.

10. Active voice Use the subject-verb-object format Change these passive sentences to active ones using the S-V-O format. 1. The book was read by John. 2. The bill was written by a committee. 3. The coffee was made by Fred. 4. He was taught by Professor Vandelay. 5. The car was repaired by Jane. 6. The meal will be cooked by Sarah. 7. The house will be painted by Bob. 8. The car would always be driven by my father. 9. The laundry would always be done by my sister. 10. The computer was repaired by me.